Bodies found in Santa Fe County tied to APD investigation

STANLEY, N.M. -- The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office has not released much information about a suspicious death investigation after a rancher found one of two bodies earlier this week.

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However, the sheriff's department did say late Thursday night that the two male victims are linked to an active Albuquerque Police Department investigation. APD will be the lead agency looking into deaths, and Santa Fe County deputies directed further inquiries there.

One of the bodies was found along a dirt road near isolated farms and ranches. Someone has placed a cross on the spot where rancher Fidel Montoya said he discovered a body stuffed inside a trash can.

"I said, 'Maybe I found a treasure.' It was a no treasure," he said.

Montoya said he's having trouble eating and sleeping after the gruesome discovery he made along the road leading to his ranch Monday.

Montoya said he went to check his mail and decided to remove a plastic trash can that had been sitting on the side of the road for more than a week. But it was too heavy to lift. He noticed the lid was strapped shut. That’s when he pried it open.

"I tried to pull the sack, and I said it’s got to be dogs or pets. Oh no, so I got in and flipped on the side so I could get a little better grab on it," he said. "And that's when I felt the toes and then the fingers. And then I ripped it like this open, and I could see young legs with the hand between the legs and one on the side. That's the hands that I touched."

Montoya rushed to a neighbor's home and called 911. He said someone else discovered another body about two miles up the road.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff's office said the deaths are suspicious and both bodies were taken to the state medical investigator.

"It bugs you because it’s in your mind what you’ve seen and how it was," Montoya said.